1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to methods for applying insulation material and to such methods that include reduction of undesirable discoloration of insulating material.
2. Description of Related Art
A wide variety of spray-on cellulose insulation materials and systems for spraying insulation on ceilings, floors, and walls are disclosed in the prior art. The prior art discloses various xe2x80x9cstabilizedxe2x80x9d spray-on or blow-in insulations for cavity walls which include loose fill fibers, moisture, adhesive material or both, to produce a somewhat rigid, stabilized mass with a desired reduced density. Such a mass in certain applications has some wet strength and is self-supporting temporarily. In one aspect such a prior art method employs some dry adhesive material that is activated by water. Certain of these prior art methods result in wasting an amount of sprayed-on or blown-in material which exits the area to which they are to be applied. Such material that is not deposited at the desired location, typically in the form of dust and overspray, must be collected and recycled or disposed of. Moving air can affect a surface to which such a mixture is applied, removing fibers from the surface and relocating them in an undesirable location. Such a mixture may settle and pack down in an undesired manner and may be easily damaged by workers and tradespeople working in the location.
Two-component adhesive resins are commonly used with sprayed-on and blown-in fibrous cellulose insulating materials. U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,983, co-owned with the present invention and incorporated here fully for all purposes, discloses prior art systems for applying fibrous cellulose insulation material with an adhesive. U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,440, co-owned with the present invention and incorporated fully herein for all purposes, discloses insulating fiber mixtures that include water, fibers, and an adhesive that is a combination of sodium silicate and an acrylic resin. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,684,068 and 5,853,802, both co-owned with the present invention and fully incorporated herein for all purposes, disclose spray-on insulation compositions with cellulose fibers and a polyvinyl alcohol adhesive and, in certain aspects, an acrylic resin.
Certain spray-on insulation materials that include an alcohol-contianing adhesive [e.g., a polyvinyl alcohol] as applied exhibit a whitish discoloration that, in some applications, is undesirable. There has been a need, recognized by the present inventor, for a spray-on insulation material that, when applied, reduces, inhibits, or eliminates undesirable discoloration or whitening.
The present invention, in certain aspects, discloses a method for reducing or inhibiting undesirable discoloration of cellulose fiber insulation, the method including mixing cellulose fibers with an adhesive in aqueous solution and with a discoloration reducing additive thereby producing a mixture, and applying the mixture to a surface of the substrate. The present invention, in certain embodiments, discloses a spray-on fibrous cellulose insulation mixture that includes the insulating cellulose fibers; one or two components of a two-component resin adhesive material (with or without added water in the adhesive); and a dispersant [e.g., a dispersant, detergent polymer, water-soluble polymer for reducing encrustation, polyacrylate polymer, and/or acrylic and polyacrylic acid mateials], e.g., but not limited to commercially available Rohm and Haas ACUSOL(trademark) 445 dispersant polymer material.
In certain particular embodiments the fibers are mixed with an xe2x80x9calcoholxe2x80x9d adhesive e.g., but not limited to, polyvinyl alcohol adhesives, (e.g. but not limited to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,684,068 and 5,853,802, and in prior art cited therein all incorporated fully herein by reference) or with alcohol-containing adhesives. In certain systems that use spray-on nozzles, this mixing occurs at the nozzle.
In one system according to the present invention, fibrous cellulose is provided in one line to a plural-component spray nozzle and an adhesive component (e.g., but not limited to, an A component, and A and a B component, or alcohol-containing adhesive as described herein) with dipsersant material is provided in another line to the nozzle.
The use of certain mixtures according to the present invention results in reducing or eliminating undesirable discoloration or whitening [which, in certain prior art applications, may appear on the surface of sprayed-on insulation as applied].
What follows are some of, but not all, the objects of this invention. In addition to the specific objects stated below for at least certain preferred embodiments of the invention, other objects and purposes will be readily apparent to one of skill in this art who has the benefit of this invention""s teachings and disclosures.
It is, therefore, an object of at least certain preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide: new, useful, unique, efficient, nonobvious safe spray-on insulation materials;
Such materials and methods of their use which reduce or eliminate undesirable discoloration or whitening; and
Such materials and methods of their use which use a PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) and a dispersant.
Certain embodiments of this invention are not limited to any particular individual feature disclosed here, but include combinations of them distinguished from the prior art in their structures and functions. Features of the invention have been broadly described so that the detailed descriptions that follow may be better understood, and in order that the contributions of this invention to the arts may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional aspects of the invention described below and which may be included in the subject matter of the claims to this invention. Those skilled in the art who have the benefit of this invention, its teachings, and suggestions will appreciate that the conceptions of this disclosure may be used as a creative basis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carrying out and practicing the present invention. The claims of this invention are to be read to include any legally equivalent devices or methods which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The present invention recognizes and addresses the previously-mentioned problems and long-felt needs and provides a solution to those problems and a satisfactory meeting of those needs in its various possible embodiments and equivalents thereof. To one skilled in this art who has the benefits of this invention""s realizations, teachings, disclosures, and suggestions, other purposes and advantages will be appreciated from the following description of preferred embodiments, given for the purpose of disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detail in these descriptions is not intended to thwart this patent""s object to claim this invention no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions of further improvements.